Sakura International Buffet @ Clementi Woods Park

Buffets are well loved by many, especially Singaporeans, with the dining concept of free flow of food and beverages. At Sakaru International Buffet Restaurant, they cater specifically to the buffet crowd.

I've been to Sakura Restaurant once, a few years back that is, and in my vague recollect, it was decent. This time around at Sakura, there were a lot of hit and misses. Too many, in fact.


Trays of cooked food welcome you as you step foot into the restaurant. Fried rice and noodles are the staples here, accompanied by various meat and vegetables cooked with a variety of methods.

(Clockwise) Siew Mai, Mushrooms, Teriyaki Chicken, Beef

The teriyaki chicken was tasty and flavourful - not too tough chicken meat, teriyaki flavors and sesame seeds strewn on top on it. The beef, on the other hand, was another story, it was tough and rubbery.

The siew mai's skin was too thick, resulting in a floury taste in your mouth as you chewed on it. The mushrooms were alright, nothing too special.

The soft shell crab was off quality, far off from the real deal. However, the fish fillets, which I think are dory fillets, were not too bad. They are quite generous with the fish over here, steaming the fillets in a light soy sauce gravy, hong kong style, and serving them in whole fillets in a tray. The refills here are a little slow though.

The dining area was separately into many sections, and in fact two floors to be exact. Here at the fried section, they offer many deep fried sides.

At the local delights area, I tried the steamed chicken and the fried tau pok and egg. The chicken was too tough and cold while the tau pok, I felt, was too bland.

A grilling station is present as well, with selections such as salmon steak, steaks, skewered scallops, satays and etc. There will be cloth pegs on your table with your table no. on them, you can then use them to order these things as they're cooked a la minute.

The scallops were flavoursome, fleshy but a tad dry. The salmon steak was too thin and overcooked. You could hardly taste the actual salmon with the strong grilled taste on the outside, resulting in a tough surface as well.

The lotus bun is something worth recommending, I loved how smooth the paste was and the sweetness was just right.

Once you're done exploring with the first floor of the dining area, don't forget there's a second floor! The desserts and japanese foods are served up on the second floor. This concept of a second floor is rather weird I feel, and it isn't customer friendly because you might leave without knowing there's a second floor of food!

The sushis are of acceptable quality and quantity. You can find most of your common sushis here. The sashimi section do not come in second too, they have a wide selection of raw fishes, octopus and prawns.

 A chocolate fondue is found on the second floor as well. Good quality chocolate wasn't used here, disappointed, but I don't blame them.

A whole molten chocolate cake is for your taking here. The molten chocolate was average, enough only for a mild chocolate satisfaction.

I concluded lunch by trying one of these and they salvaged the lunch a little. Sweet surprise because I wasn't expecting much out of these jellies. They were very nice with the different fruit flavours in them, real fruit juice must have been incorporated to manufacture a taste so similar to the fruit itself. They were konnyaku jelly, my new favourites for jellies.

Overall, a wide array of food, drinks and desserts, however the quality of the food was lacking tremendously. I would have preferred quality over quantity.

How about you? Have you tried any Sakura outlets around the island too? Do leave a comment to let me know your views or experiences. Thank you.


Sakura International Buffet (Clementi)
Clementi Wood Park

93A Clementi Rd

Daily: 12pm - 2.30pm, 6pm -9.30pm
Tel: 6474 8197

Jonathan & Eunice's Wedding: A Fairytale Turned Reality

The Groom : Jonathan Tan

The Bride :  Eunice Lin

On this faithful Saturday, 10.9.2011, Jonathan and Eunice officially became Mr and Mrs Tan! Love filled the air and the sounds of wedding bells ringing propagated through the neighbourhood of Toa Payoh as a special communion between Jonathan and Eunice was formed as they exchanged vows and became husband and wife. Congratulations once again!

I know they probably would not see this, but it's alright, I just felt I had to post this. Well, simply because it's something special that happens only once in a lifetime y'know.

‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. - Mark 10:7-8

This post shall give me a chance to express my well wishes for both of them too, which I never got down to writing it on a card for them. (guilt stricken is me, but hey I gave them a gift!) 

First of all, what a couple both of them are! In every good way possible, I mean! As individuals, Jonathan or Xin Liang as we usually refer him to, has a God gifted sense of humour; He is extremely funny. (I dare say Jesus bestowed more of his humorous side to him than the rest of us!) He can easily give your cheeks and stomachs a good workout any time, just talk to him. Easy going, friendly are words that befits him well too. 

Eunice or Chun Hui, as I'm used to calling her, is humble, friendly and super nice. I say this not because it's a time to use only positive words but rather, they're base on my own encounters while being working together as ushers in church. Even if she's in charge and she's the boss/leader, she doesn't act like one at all, she's quick to share the blame and not push it to others. Imagine. These two becoming one. -smiles-

Secondly, I believe this marriage is pleasing in the eyes of our Lord and He shall sustain this marriage as long as they live because marriage is sacred and it wouldn't have happened if God didn't allow it. So don't fret and live happily ever after! Life might not be so perfect but let your quibbles, fights, and any forms of unhappiness that might arise, bring you two closer as you two learn what it means to live as one.

Last but not least, may you two continue to be committed and united as the days go by! May you two not have just intimacy in love, in life but also spiritually, in God. Help each other to be more God  fearing everyday, carry your crosses and follow Jesus as you two support each other. Let your lives be a testimony to others, shine in your families, communities, workplaces and flavour the world with your saltiness.(:

The wedding itself was a simple, elegant and touching one. I loved it. There was love in the air and there was God's presence and that's all that matters.

Now, what's a complete joyous occasion without food? People might not think much when 'tea reception' is mentioned, especially when it's catered food. You expect a spread but you don't expect a feast. You haven't found a good caterer yet. 

It was a feast for our eyes as well as our mouths. I regretted not coming down to photograph the food earlier. It was a complete meal - entrées, mains, desserts and drinks. Everyone was in for a treat. 

The smoked salmon and prawns, you see above, are part of the entrées served. The smoked salmon could do with less salt as it was simply too salty, or was it suppose to whet your appetite with its saltiness? The prawns were dipped in a sourish, tomato looking sauce which tasted a little queer and the prawns were a little too fishy, though they were firm and big which tells of their freshness.

There were sushis too!

I skipped the mains, this is why:

Paradise.

How. Do. You. Resist. This. Tell me if you know how, okay?

It was dessert haven. There was a decent variety of desserts and pastries available for anyone's taking. 

The butter cupcakes were very pretty looking with their flower decoration but the flowers were so tough. They should have put up a sign that says 'Flowers might be too hard for consumption.' or something. They were great in taste too, like the yummy strawberry frosting which I loved. No addition complains.

The tiramisu, which means 'pick me up' literally in Italian, was a let down. The biscuit stick on the top lost its crispiness and there was simply too much coffee cream. My taste buds only picked up the cream and nothing else.

There were two chocolate fondues as well. Decent chcolate was used with a wide selection of fresh fruits and marshmallow available for dipping. Thumbs up for that. Chocoholics, you can go 'high' on chocolate now. Oh and if you love to know the caterer? It's Smiling Orchid or http://www.smilingorchid.com/index.php.

'Smile!'

 The wedding was magical, the food was fantastic but these matter not. It's the couple who gave the whole wedding its meaning. I shall end off simply by giving my utmost sincere blessing to you two!

To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. - May you two always hold steadfast to this vow. 

Wishing you a very blessed marriage,

Nigel

   

Domino's Pizza: An Appreciation Dinner

Bloggers who participated in the Singapore Blog Awards(SBA), which started in May, were invited to an appreciation dinner by Domino's Pizza. Domino's Pizza have received the help of many blogger and thus, organised this dinner in appreciation.

8 bloggers, including myself, turned up for it. It was really just a time of mingling around with other bloggers who shared the same passion for blogging and well, when there is company, it is bound to be accompanied by food right? I had a great time getting to know: Hazel of AiMakan, Roxanne of Laced Ivory, Joey of iisjong, Melissa of Melissa Choi and Alexis of alex.is.

We were in for a treat that night, as we were served a number of sides, pizzas and a lava cake each.



The gathering started off with Ms Linda, the marketing manger of Domino's Pizza, feeding us with a little of Domino's Pizaa's background information and its history.

She then told us about the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of Domino's. It's really customers first at Domino's where they would offer customers a free pizza voucher if there is any complains, no questions asked.

They are committed to making sure that every customer is not short-changed with CCTVs at every work station while the staff made the pizzas. Thus, in any instances of complains of too little ingredients, they can easily check through the CCTV. Now that's commitment for you.

It was time to eat and, the sides were served first.



The Crazy Chicken Crunchies(Tom Yam) were a little cold after we have finished taking photos and whatsnot. However, with that aside, I thought the spiciness of the chicken was overwhelming; you could only taste the spiciness along with the crunch of the chicken.



These onion rings could do with a little more cheese. I couldn't taste the garlic cheese on the Garlic Cheese Onion Rings.



The Golden Roasted Drummets were Melissa's favourite. She had 5 of them and wanted more. 'Chickens, fear her.' Haha. They were tasty and finger licking good.



At Domino's, there are 4 chocices of crust available. They are, in ascending thickness, Crunchy Thin Crust, Cheese Burst Crust, New York Crust and Classic Hand Tossed Crust. You can see from the picture, the obvious difference between a hand tossed crust and the cheese burst crust.

Domino's ushered in the arrival of a new crust - the cheese burst crust - not too long ago. The cheese burst crust is described as such, two crunchy thin crust with a layer of creamy cheddar cheese sauce in between. Did that get your saliva glands working?



I only managed to try these two pizzas before I was full. You'll see why later on. These two are the Hawaiian Paradise (bottom) and the Chicken Temptation.

The Hawaiian Paradise had supposedly the cheese burst crust, but my tastebuds only manged to detect their signature sauce - tomato sauce - and the cheese in the pizza. The crust wasn't crunchy crispy but it was nice, with it being thin.

The Chicken Temptation was decent with its thick crust. I think I prefer the thin crust to a thick hand tossed one. Though for you out there, who likes chewy food, you'll enjoy the hand tossed crust.



The Classified Chicken pizza.



The Extravaganzza pizza.



Oops, it's gone. Domino's Lava Cake was devoured. And this was the reason why I didn't have the chance to sample the other two pizzas.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins when 'chocolate lava cake' was mentioned. The thought of warm, runny, molten chocolate flowing out as your fork nudged a piece of cake off, was too much to bear. I skipped the two pizzas and went for this first.



The chocolate cake was very chocolatey, I think I just sounded the alarm for chocoholics, but the molten chocolate was too thick and cloying. I was expecting a runnier chocolate filling. It was filling too, so beware. This should do fine if you should ever need a quick dose of chocolate.

Well, that was more or less the entire gathering. This was my first bloggers meeting and I've happy to say that they're all friendly and nice!

Thank you Janet for the invite and the team behind Domino's for the wonderful dinner!

Domino's Pizza

Kovan
943/945, Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore 534710

Ang Mo Kio
1, Blk 339 #01-1587, Singapore 560339

Bedok
Blk 218, Bedok North 1, #01-15 Singapore 460218

Bukit Merah
Blk 111 Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-1678, Singapore 160111

Choa Chu Kang
Block 253 Choa Chu Kang #01-01 ( Keat Hong Shopping Centre) Singapore 680253

Elias Mall
Blk 625 #01-312 Elias Mall, Elias Road, Singapore 510625

Jurong
6 Jurong West Avenue 1, #01-03, Singapore 649520

Katong
301,Tanjong Katong Road,Singapore 437084

Killiney
71 & 71A,Killiney Road,Singapore 239527

Sembawang
369 Sembawang Road,#01-06 Sembawang Cottage, Singapore 758382

Tampines
No. 15 Jalan Tepong #04-11/12 Jurong Food Hub , Singapore 619336

Bukit Timah
8 Chun Tin Road, Singapore 599595

Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake & Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake

"Happy birthday bro!"

Last saturday it was my brother's birthday, my cousin's wedding day and I woke up to do something I love for someone I love. Life was at its best, don't you agree?

The idea of starting a food blog dawned on me after reading and drooling at beautiful food blogs (which were always accompanied by stunning food photographs). And so after a meticulous time of coming up with the blog name and scouring the web for a blog theme, the Gustatory Explorer was born!

Decided to dedicate my first post to my brother because I was planning to bake for him. The above 2 cakes were his birthday cakes.(: Went through several blogs, numerous recipes and discussion with my sister before finally settling on 2: Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake & Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake.

My sister took on the more sophiscated cheesecake while me, being a amateur baker, baked the chocolate cake. It was our first time trying out both cakes and sadly both were not very successful.

My chocolate cake's bottom was ruined while the cheesecake's top was ruined when the aluminium foil touched the top of it and the cheesecake sank and wrinkled subsequently because I think I did a mistake of switching off the oven and leaving the oven's door ajar concurrently, causing too drastic a drop in temperature. Couldn't bring myself to take a photo of it. My sister was horrified when she saw the cake because she had asked me to watch the cakes carefully.

"Sorry sister!"

In the end she decided to frost the top of the cheesecake with my choclate frosting to make it more presentable. Tasted the cakes and thought the chocolate cake tasted a little like brownie while the cheesecake was soft and good but, unfortunately, was a little damp. At the end of the day its the thought that counts and the joy derived from baking right? As the english idiom goes, "Experience is the best teacher." Or the chinese saying, "经一事长一智。"

Happy baking!
Gustatory Explorer

Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

(adapted from The Little Teochew who adapted from my ultimate Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson)
- 200g plain flour
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 40g best-quality cocoa
- 175g soft unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
- 150ml sour cream (which I subbed with creme fraiche) * Note that I halved everything to make a cake just right for my family size. The other reason being, my oven is just too small to accommodate 2 cake tins. Yes, THAT small. Sad.

1. Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and line and butter two 20cm sandwich tins with removable bases.

3. Now all you have to do is put all the cake ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream – into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture.

4. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.

5. Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester, or a thin skewer, comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25.

6. Also, it might make sense to switch the two cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time.

7. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don’t worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the icing later.

Recipe for Creamy Chocolate Frosting

(adapted from The Little Teochew who adapted from Allrecipes)
170 g confectioners' sugar
- 15 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 45 g butter
- 40 ml evaporated milk
- 3 ml vanilla extract * Note that this recipe is enough for 6 servings. If you want to bake a bigger cake, you can input your desired serving size at Allrecipes (click on the link) and the corresponding measurements will be re-calculated.

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

Gustatory Explorer: Note that i put digestive biscuits, which is not stated in the recipe, at the side and the top of my chocolate cake to decorate it.

Gustatory Explorer learned: Placing baking paper in the cake mould might have helped to prevent the cake's bottom from being ruined.

Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake

(adapted from The Little Teochew who adapted from Diana's Desserts)

- 140g fine granulated sugar
- 6 egg whites - 6 egg yolks
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 50g butter
- 250g cream cheese
- 100ml fresh milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (I omitted this)
- 60g cake flour
- 20g corn flour
- 1/4 tsp salt

1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well.

2. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.

3. Add the cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and fold well. Pour into a 8-inch round cake pan (lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper). Wrap the base of your cake tin with aluminium foil if you are using a springform tin, to prevent seepage.

4. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hour 10 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 degree celsius.

Gustatory Explorer: There are fantastic tips over at The Little Teochew. So be sure to head over there to check them over before attempting this recipe, it would really help!